From the beginning of 2007, ITU-T Recommendations will be available without charge for a trial
period.

With only
a small number of exceptions all in-force Recommendations will be available in
PDF form via a simple mouse click.

There is a
general belief that the strategic importance of making on-line access to ITU-T
Recommendations free outweighs the costs (in terms of lost
revenue) to ITU. This is seen as a way to increase the transparency of
ITU-T work and encourage wider participation in ITU-T activities. It is also
believed that this policy will help increase developing countries' awareness of
pertinent issues and help to promote the participation of
academia in ITU-T work.

Study
Group 17 has initiated the approval process for a standard providing an
overview of cybersecurity. The work establishes a definition of cybersecurity
that is wide enough in scope to cover various and sometimes inconsistent
definitions.

The Recommendation (X.1205)
provides a taxonomy of security threats from an organizationís point of view.
Cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities including the most common hackerís
tools of the trade are presented. Threats are discussed at various network layers.

Various
Cybersecurity technologies to remedy threats are discussed including: routers,
firewalls, antivirus protection, intrusion detection systems, intrusion
protection systems, secure computing and audit and monitoring. Network
protection principles such as defense in depth, access management with
application to Cybersecurity are also discussed. Risk management strategies and
techniques are discussed including the value of training and education in
protecting the network. In addition examples for securing various networks
based on the discussed technologies are also discussed.

Digital
identity refers to the online representation of a userís or network elementís
identity and the identity of those that the user or network element interacts
with. It does not mean the positive validation of a person. Information
regarding device identities is becoming an increasingly valuable commodity, and
as a consequence, its protection and management are vital to a healthy and
inclusive digital world.

There are
different approaches for representing identities and different identity
management frameworks. The lack of a common view on digital identity and its
management has so far resulted in incompatible applications.

The Focus
Group will explore mechanisms that allow different frameworks to interoperate
together. Experts said there is a need to identify current gaps in proposed
solutions. For example, IdM solutions that involve the telecom network level
and in general lower layers have not been addressed sufficiently, they said.
The Focus Group will act as a platform for an exchange of information in order
to bring about necessary harmonisation.

All
standards organizations and developer forums involved in identity management
worldwide, including institutes, forums, companies, experts and individuals
regardless of whether ITU members or not are encouraged to participate.

The first
meeting of the FG IdM is scheduled to take place at ITU Headquarters, in Geneva, from 13 to 16
February 2007.

IP
multicast is seen a promising technology for providing IP-based video distribution
because of its bandwidth efficiency while accommodating millions of clients.

Recommendation
J.283 provides a set of architectural concepts for constructing and meeting the
service quality requirement of a stable IP-based video distribution network. It
uses network layer (Layer-3) route diversity between the server edge routers
and the client edge routers.

Three new
Recommendations providing architecture for advanced set-top boxes have been
approved by Study Group 9.

The
Recommendations (J.290-J.292) take into account advances in technologies and
architectures for delivery of multiple types of services Ė including video,
voice and data. The three include a core Recommendation along with two adjuncts
which provide for a cable solution and a media independent solution. The core
document (J.290) describes key functional aspects of the next generation
set-top box (STB), such as configurable security including downloadable
conditional access, advanced codecs, video over IP, QoS control and extension
of these functions to in-home networks.

J.291
describes the cable network architecture component of the next-generation STB.
When combined with companion Recommendation J.290 the architecture defines a
cost-efficient platform with capacity and flexibility to support growth of
on-demand video, high definition digital TV, managed in-home networks
connecting a wide range of consumer-provided devices, and future IP multimedia
services including IP voice, video telephony, and multiplayer gaming. It
reflects key functional aspects of the next generation cable STB, such as a
common application platform (globally executable MHP (Multimedia Home
Platform), which is the common core among OCAP (OpenCable project), MHP and
ARIB (Association of Radio Industries and Businesses), MPEG (Moving Picture
Expert Group) transport including advanced compression technology, and
downloadable conditional access (configurable security).

J.292
describes a core architecture that is not dependent on transport media for a
next generation STB which will allow service providers to offer existing and
new advanced services regardless of the transport media. In this Recommendation
it is assumed that all contents are transported on IP packets with an adequate
QoS controlled mechanism. The Recommendation reflects key functional aspects of
the next generation STB, such as network resource adaptability, secure two-way
authenticated communication and session resource management and a QoS-control
mechanism.

Three new
Recommendations from ITU-Tís Study Group 9
provide the first steps towards the next generation of cable modems. According
to SG insiders new cable modems will boost bandwidth, increase security and
provide greater flexibility overall for network operators to deploy data
services.

Recommendations
J.210-J.212 provide a basis for modularizing cable modem termination systems
(CMTS) and were designed as an extension to the DOCSIS Recommendations to allow
for flexibility and independent scaling of certain CMTS functions.

DOCSIS
(data over cable service interface specifications) Ė defined in Recommendations
J.112 and J.122 - specifies transmission systems for interactive cable television
services - IP cable modems. It defines the requirements for the two fundamental
components that comprise a high-speed data-over-cable system: the cable modem
(CM) and the CMTS.

The
modular-CMTS (M-CMTS) architecture splits the CMTS function into three
fundamental components: the M-CMTS Core, the EQAM (downstream modulator), and
the Timing Server. Inasmuch as the modular components may be located on
different chassis, and potentially at different physical locations, the new
Recommendation J.211 (Timing Interface for CMTS) provides the robust and highly
accurate transport of timing signals from the Timing Server to the other
components of the M-CMTS network in order to ensure that the system components
work in lock-step.

Recommendation
J.212 defines the protocol used to tunnel downstream user data across an
Ethernet network between the M-CMTS Core and EQAM. Finally, the new
Recommendation J.210 defines the downstream physical layer modulator
requirements for the EQAM.

Another
new Recommendation in the DOCSIS series, J.213, describes requirements on both
CMTSs and CMs in order to implement a Layer-2 Virtual Private Network feature
which allows operators to offer a Transparent LAN Service along the lines of
Carrier Ethernet.

ITU-Tís Study Group 9 has
approved an array of Recommendations in several areas including broadband IP
multimedia services and next generation digital set top box architectures.

Study
Group experts say that the advancements will greatly extend the service
capabilities of broadband cable and other networks. The Recommendations were
approved by ITU-T Study Group 9, Integrated Broadband Cable Networks and
Television and Sound Transmission, during its October meeting in Tokyo.

IPCablecom
is a project initiated by SG 9 several years ago on time-critical interactive
services over cable television networks using IP. It is a suite of
Recommendations (J.160-178) which provides for telephony, and J.179 (IPCablecom
Multi Media), which creates a bridge that allows for the expansion into a full
range of multi-media services.

IPCablecom2
is contained in a new suite of Recommendations (J.360-363 and J.365-366) and is
designed to support the convergence of voice, video, data, and mobility
technologies through a modular non-service specific approach. This modular
approach allows operators flexibility to deploy network capabilities as
required by their specific service offerings, while maintaining
interoperability across a variety of devices from multiple suppliers.

These new
Recommendations define an architecture and a set of open interfaces that
leverage emerging communications technologies, such as the session initiation
protocol (SIP), to support the rapid introduction of new IP-based services onto
the cable network. IPCablecom2 is also based on Release 6 of the IP Multimedia
Subsystem (IMS), as developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP),
which is a SIP-based architecture for providing multimedia services.

The
November meeting of Study Group 16 saw a significant reshaping of the groupís
media coding work according to experts.

The
wording of the title of the Question Ė ITU-Tís term for work area Ė has changed
from Video to Visual Coding. This is to incorporate work in the areas of still
image, graphics, computer displays

and
medical imaging as well as the more traditional video sequences.

The Question
is home to video coding spec H.264 and an amendment to that Recommendation was
made to give new profiles supporting H.264ís use in high-end studio
applications that use the 4:4:4 color sampling system.

From the
official wording of Question 6/16: ďThis Question will focus on the maintenance
and extension of existing video and still-image coding Recommendations, and
laying the ground for new Recommendations using advanced techniques to
significantly improve the trade-offs between bit rate, quality, delay, and
algorithm complexity. Video, still-image, and other visual coding standards
will be developed with sufficient flexibility to accommodate a diverse number
of transport types (Internet, LAN, Mobile,
ISDN, GSTN, H.222.0, NGN, etc.).Ē

Study
Group 16 will start work in a new area, generic sound activity detection
(GSAD).

Voice
activity detection (VAD) is widely used in telecommunications networks as a
means of differentiating between wanted and unwanted in-band audio signals, for
example to obtain trunking efficiency in circuit multiplication equipment; to
ensure correct operation of echo control and other signal enhancement devices
etc.

The
proposal for generic sound activity detection (GSAD) is motivated by two
problems.

1.With rapid changes in the
telecommunication network environment, more and more multimedia services are
being provided. Although the network is evolving from a voice to a multimedia
network, most VAD algorithms are still mainly designed to handle voice signals
and can not work properly in the presence of rich audio signals, which include
voice, music, background environmental noise, information tones etc.

2.Historically, VAD algorithms have been
developed separately for individual network elements and applications, and
there are currently numerous VAD algorithms. However, they are based on
different principles, which make it difficult to provide common performance
enhancements across all VADs.

Therefore
it is seen as beneficial to develop a generic sound (rather than voice)
activity detector, which can be applied across a range of applications. The
benefits from a standardised GSAD are predicted to be:

∑ Enhanced performance to deal with
new types of in-band audio signals

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